When to start domperidone?

Hi all,

My baby is now 5 days old and I have low supply. I checked with my LC consultant today, and we found I am producing 18ml both breasts combined. He was born at 39 weeks by c-section due to breech presentation, but I feel (and so does my LC) that he is more like 37 or 38 weeks as he is small, a slow feeder, etc. He was 6lb 13oz but lost weight quickly (12% by day 3) as my supply is low and we had to start supplementing, but he is very sleepy and it is very difficult to bottle feed him. Just fyi, supposedly my milk has "come in" but the supply is abysmal, as you can see.

This, unfortunately, is a repeat performance for my breasts which pulled the same stunts last time with my first baby. Last time I started taking domperidone at around 4 weeks to give my body "time" to see what it could do on its own. Taking the domperidone doubled my supply which meant I could give my baby anywhere from half to up to about 80% of his feeds depending on how fast he was outpacing me. I breastfed until 5 months and pumped until a year even though it meant pumping like crazy around the clock. I was SO PROUD to give my baby my milk, and I want to do it again!

So this time I am very disappointed as I was hoping for a better supply than before, but I guess this is it. Sooooo... when should I start the domperidone? I am hesitant to start it so early just in case a miracle occurs (very doubtful) and my milk "comes in" better over the next several days. However, my baby is not gaining weight very well as it is difficult to formula feed him, so the sooner my supply is up, the better!!!

I would appreciate all advice on the matter, especially people with experience. I don't want to hurt my supply by starting too early, but not even sure if this is possible. Thank everyone, and GOOD LUCK to all the mommies out there like me who want desperately to give their babies the best they can .

Re: When to start domperidone?

I would start it now. The first 6 wks are crucial for building supply. My milk was very very low initially. When he was 12 days old I started domperidone. By 14 days we were ebf and by 4 weeks I weaned off the Dom. He's 12 months and still nursing, no supply issues since

Mama to five beautiful kids- 9, 8, 3, 2 and currently nursing our new baby girl born 1/20/2013

"It should not be necessary to tell reasonably intelligent mammals to suckle and not dismember their neonates." ~Susan Blustein

Re: When to start domperidone?

18 ml at 5 days post partum is a good pumping output (well more than what I was getting for sure, lol). It may be simply that you need more time with babe at the breast (vs at the bottle). I had a sleepy baby as well, it is really hard. I was pumping, finger feeding, and nursing. What helped was to wake her every two hours strictly, with one four hour stretch at night. When I did every three hours we got nowhere. From the beginning of each feed, not the end. Peryour doctor/Lc's recommendation this may need to include a finger/spoon feeding for a few days. Keep in mind that the average woman pumps 2 oz both breasts per session (after milk supply is established, much later than 5 days post partum). Taking that into account you are really getting there at a decent speed, doing great! And baby's stomach is so small. Remember too that the pump is not an indicator of milk supply. You could get nothing at the pump and babe could still be getting enough at the breast. Some women just don't do well with a pump.

In thinking your babe was earlier because of sleepiness etc.. , it may not be your child was born early. It may instead be your birth experience. Pitocin, IV fluids, Epidurals can all cause rapid weight loss post partum, sleepy baby syndrome, and a delay in milk coming in as well as make it more difficult to breastfeed. When I was first told this it was really hard for me to hear it but now that time has passed I am sure it was my birth experience that contributed to our breastfeeding difficulties and sleeping baby syndrome.

For all this information, and more, I highly recommend reading '' The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding''. I also recommend going to a LLL meeting. In your shoes I'd wait another couple weeks before taking the script.